Long before Sergey Kovalev became the ?Krusher? with three light heavyweight belts, he was just an unnoticed Russian boxer trying to make it in America.
Actually, it wasn?t that long ago. Kovalev didn?t have a promoter until Kathy Duva took a chance on him in 2012. It took Egis Klimas, Kovalev?s manager, three years to convince a promoter to sign his client.
Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 knockouts) has taken time this week to reflect on his struggles before stardom as he prepared for his first HBO pay-per-view fight against Andre Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
?He wasn?t an easy sale,? Klimas said. ?People told me I had two problems. One, he was a Russian who spoke no English. Two, he was a light heavyweight.?
That combination was viewed as toxic to promoters. Light heavyweights historically are overshadowed by the heavyweights and speedy welterweights.
Fortunately for Kovalev, Duva and Klimas were just as desperate. Duva?s promotional company, Main Events, was in need of its next star, and Klimas, a new manager in the business, needed his own star to lure more clients. Sergey Kovalev has come a long way with Egis Klimas Las Vegas Review Journal Video Player Download FileundefinedNo valid source could be found
Klimas lost track of how much money he had invested in Kovalev before he saw a return.
?It was $400,000!? Kovalev shouted with a smile. ?I remember. I owe a lot to Egis.?
Kovalev and Klimas had a business meeting in Kazakhstan seven years ago that changed their lives. Klimas had few connections in boxing, but Kovalev was sold on trust and signed with Klimas.
?God bless Kazakhstan,? Klimas said. ?That?s where it all started.?
Klimas took care of Kovalev by paying his living expenses, and paid the purses of Kovalev?s opponents and the promoters for having him compete. Klimas also paid the travel expenses for both sides. All the Russian boxer had to do was keep winning.
Kovalev fought on small cards in North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, Kentucky and even the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles before he met Duva in 2012.
Duva gave Kovalev his first-ever purse when he fought a rematch with Darnell Boone, who almost defeated Kovalev in 2010. Boone was never an easy out. He was the first boxer to knock down Ward in 2005 and had a victory against Adonis Stevenson, who currently holds the 175-pound WBC belt.
?Boone was the gatekeeper,? Duva said. ?You get by him, then you?re the real deal. We were kind of worried asking Kovalev to go through with this fight. He loved it. He said it was perfect and told us, ?I will get to see if I?m better.??
Kovalev is often viewed as a difficult fighter to deal with, but he made adjustments after signing with a promotional company mostly operated by women.
Main Events was once the premier company under Dan Duva, Kathy?s husband, with fighters such as Evander Holyfield, Pernell Whitaker, Lennox Lewis, Meldrick Taylor, Vinny Pazienza and Arturo Gatti. Dan Duva died in 1996, and the company began to lose luster before Kathy Duva found Kovalev.
?Sergey is a guy who likes to control his life, and it was hard for him at first to trust these women who were telling him what to do,? Duva said. ?A lot of boxers had a problem with that.
?Of course we needed a Kovalev. I know how to move a fighter. I know how to move him to where he needs to go. We have the knowledge, and I was the publicist when my husband started the company. I always said if somebody would just trust us, then we?ll get him where he wants to go.?
Duva made it a priority to give Kovalev a catchy nickname that the boxing public would love to say.
?We just started throwing out all these names, and someone shouted crusher, and then someone said with a K, and it took off from there.? Duva said.
Kovalev walks around with a giant gold ring with the ?Krusher? logo. It was a gift from Main Events when Kovalev unified the belts against Bernard Hopkins in 2014.
The victory over Hopkins was Kovalev?s coming out party in the U.S. and Russia. Kovalev wasn?t the favorite boxer in his homeland. Artur Beterbiev, who defeated Kovalev in the amateurs, was viewed as Russia?s next boxing star.
?Beterbiev was the favorite son,? Duva said. ?Sergey was a nobody in his own country for a long time. That has changed. He?s a rock star when he goes back.?
Kovalev is fighting in the biggest payday of his career, but even with the three belts, he?s still the B-side. Ward?s purse is $5 million, and Kovalev will make $2 million. Both fighters stepped on the scale at 175 pounds Friday.
The ?Krusher? has come a long way, but again, he?s the underdog. Ward is a minus-160 favorite, according to William Hill.
?I will knock out your guy,? Kovalev said Friday to the crowd booing him at the MGM Grand Arena.
